Musical Youth

How did your hobbies as a youngster shape the work you do today?

It dawned on me recently while mixing music with voiceover, that playing the Cornet from the age of 10, followed by the French Horn later and the Saxophone much later, has made me a better audio producer.

Reading music when I was younger means when I look at an audio track in my editing software today, I have an exact eye for where the voiceover should start to speak.

Lining the start of a sentence up with a particular chord in a bar creates a seamless sound and an effortless flow giving the listener a more natural and enjoyable audible experience.

Even though there are a whole host of software options that provide tricks to automate the voiceover and music mix, sometimes you just can’t beat real individual care and attention to create the best sound.

When I’m not mixing my own voiceovers with music, I’m mixing other voiceovers with music and it’s amazing to hear and feel all of the different and endless styles and sounds.

I used to think that my career path had a lot to do with fate, but looking back it’s clear the interests I had when I was young helped to define my profession.

Being a teenager in the 1990’s also gave me a very good ear for a banging bassline.  Oh… to be young again!

So that’s how my musical youth hobbies enhanced my work today.  What about you?  Was it a sport?  A game?  An outdoor pursuit?  What interests while growing up have impacted your professional proficiency?